Computer Virus

Miami A federal jury in Miami on Thursday convicted a Pembroke Pines man of spreading a virus throughout his employer's interstate computer system in the nation's second such trial. Herbert Pierre-Louis faces up to 3 1/2 years in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution of more than $75,000 when he is sentenced in November. The first trial under a federal statute outlawing sending a computer virus that causes at least $5,000 in damage was in New Jersey, said prosecutor Richard Boscovich.

A new computer virus is stealing log-in information for e-mail, online banking software and social networking sites — including Facebook, Yahoo and Hotmail — and sending it to hackers. Imagine these bad guys using your own passwords to infiltrate and peruse through not only your business and personal e-mail, but your private photos, videos and daily life details (hello status updates saying you're not at home or away on vacation) directly from your prized social networking sites.

Is the computer the most consumer unfriendly product you can buy? Every computer user probably has their own horror stories, but here's mine: I had hoped to get through one more tax season with my old computer, but then the CD-ROM unit died and made my new TurboTax disc useless. So last month, I bought a new IBM Aptiva computer from an Internet discounter that advertises in the Sun-Sentinel. When everything arrived at the end of the month, I set to work assembling my new computer, but immediately ran into problems.

A video made of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews undressing in her hotel room is being used to spread a computer virus, according to sophos.com, an anti-virus software company. A video of Andrews was shot through the peephole of her hotel room and then quickly made its way to the Internet. Soon after websites cropped up claiming to be links to the video but were actually a way to release a virus into the user's system. "Hackers are no slacks when it comes to taking advantage of a hot Internet search trend, and they have been quick to set up bogus Web pages claiming to contain the video footage of Ms. Andrews in her hotel room," said Graham Cluley, of Sophos.

If you have ever copied a file off a floppy disk, used a modem, operated on a network or received a program from a friend, your personal computer could be housing a hidden and harmful digital infection. Fort Lauderdale attorney Jerard Heller has been hit by four viruses since his computer data was destroyed by the infamous Michelangelo computer virus in 1992. "I now have a security system that includes antivirus software and floppy disk backups of all my client information," Heller said.

ORLANDO -- Michelangelo, the Renaissance artist, caused a creative stir in the 16th century, but the computer virus that bears his name is causing electronic mayhem in the 1990s. A renegade computer program, which hides itself in software, is already spreading internationally, infecting hard-drive storage disks and wiping out data files without warning, computer industry officials say. On March 6, birthday of the artist, the virus is expected to destroy all stored data in the infected computers.

Robert Tappan Morris Jr., 23, spent many weeks painstakingly creating the computer "virus" that besieged many of the nation`s computer networks on Wednesday night and Thursday. By all accounts, the computer science student intended no harm. But in the end, working with great intensity and little sleep, he made a single programming error that jammed more than 6,000 computers in what is being called this country`s most serious computer "virus" attack. That mistake also brought Robert Morris` life crashing down, three friends have told The New York Times.

Why be so vindictive toward the boy genius who produced the costly Sasser worm? He only intended to help his mother's small computer business, according to a confession he gave police. So, just let him go, right? Unfortunately, it's likely German authorities will have no choice but to do just that. The maximum penalty Sven Jaschan faces if found guilty of spreading the computer malady is five years in prison. And because he was a minor at the time he committed the infraction, it's unlikely he will get any significant jail time.

A video made of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews undressing in her hotel room is being used to spread a computer virus, according to sophos.com, an anti-virus software company. A video of Andrews was shot through the peephole of her hotel room and then quickly made its way to the Internet. Soon after websites cropped up claiming to be links to the video but were actually a way to release a virus into the user's system. "Hackers are no slacks when it comes to taking advantage of a hot Internet search trend, and they have been quick to set up bogus Web pages claiming to contain the video footage of Ms. Andrews in her hotel room," said Graham Cluley, of Sophos.

Self-help sells. The top business best sellers at office supermarkets across the country have such titles as Organize Yourself, Getting Things Done and Doing It Now. The top-selling book at such stores as Bizmart, Office Depot and Office Warehouse is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (Simon & Schuster, $19.95), which was generally well-reviewed last year because of its compassionate point of view. These same stores also stock a wide range of computer self-help books, which many people would rather read instead of the documentation that comes with software.

Why be so vindictive toward the boy genius who produced the costly Sasser worm? He only intended to help his mother's small computer business, according to a confession he gave police. So, just let him go, right? Unfortunately, it's likely German authorities will have no choice but to do just that. The maximum penalty Sven Jaschan faces if found guilty of spreading the computer malady is five years in prison. And because he was a minor at the time he committed the infraction, it's unlikely he will get any significant jail time.

As the Blaster virus was poised to crash computers and clog networks around the globe, Dillard High School already had matters under control. But it wasn't corporate engineers, private vendors or school district staff safeguarding more than 350 workstations and servers on campus. Students were -- just two of them. "We probably would have lost some stuff if it hadn't been for the boys," said Mary Meillier, coordinator of Dillard's Emerging Computer Technology magnet program. "We went home that night, had dinner, and we crashed, as usual.

As the Blaster virus was poised to crash computers and clog networks around the globe, Dillard High School already had matters under control. But it wasn't corporate engineers, private vendors or school district staff safeguarding more than 350 workstations and servers on campus. Students were -- just two of them. "We probably would have lost some stuff if it hadn't been for the boys," said Mary Meillier, coordinator of Dillard's Emerging Computer Technology magnet program. "We went home that night, had dinner, and we crashed, as usual.

The appearance of the next computer virus/worm, whether it is SoBig.G or something else, is just below death and taxes on the inevitability charts. Since there has already been a SoBig for every letter of the alphabet up to "F", with each one released shortly after the previous one expired, most experts expect to see "G" within a few weeks of the Sept. 10 expiration date for the troublesome F. The bad news, or should I say even worse news, is that each one has spread faster and more efficiently than the last, and has been sneakier in its backdoor activities, according to the experts.

Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (Warner, VHS $19.96, DVD $24.98, rated G) 2001. Directed by Jim Stenstrum; voices by Joe Alaskey, Bob Bergen, Grey Delisle, Scott Innes, Tom Kane, Mikey Kelley, Gary Sturgis, B.J. Ward and Frank Welker. When the gang of the Mystery Machine encounter a nasty virtual incarnation of a computer virus, they chase it back inside the computer, where they must make their way successfully through 10 levels of game play in myriad virtual worlds with the help of their digital doubles.

The Internet was brought to its knees recently by three little words: "I love you." This Mars with Venus' veneer was actually a computer virus: an insidious little program that worms its way through our digital communications and damages something many of us have come to depend on -- our computers. I found it ironic that so many online company leaders were crying "foul," since they have launched their own destructive communication code that could potentially damage something else we have come to depend on -- local government.